“All right, Wooloo’s gone to round up the flock.
We should get back to work too.”
Shiryu turned toward Beldum and Drilbur.
“Drilbur, we’ve cleared most of the grass from this patch already, so use Dig and help me turn the soil.”
“Dril!”
Drilbur nodded.
This was exactly the kind of job he excelled at.
He extended both of his white claws and immediately began digging into the ground.
It had rained the previous night, leaving the soil damp and relatively soft, so he didn’t have to struggle much.
Drilbur moved astonishingly fast.
From one end of the plot to the other, the entire run took less than half a minute.
‘At this pace, he should be able to cultivate a hundred square meters before dark.’
Shiryu quickly made the estimate, then looked toward Beldum.
“Beldum, we shouldn’t stand around either.
Let’s fix up the cottage first, or we’re not going to have anywhere to sleep tonight.”
He glanced around and shrugged.
The ranch was surrounded by open, abandoned land.
There wasn’t even a decent place to hang a hammock unless Shiryu was willing to head into the forest to the south.
But he’d never explored that forest before and had no idea whether powerful wild Pokémon lived inside.
There was no reason to take unnecessary risks.
He wasn’t some Pokémon adventurer; he was just a rancher.
After roughly an hour of work, Shiryu had managed to clean and patch up the old thatched cottage enough to make it look considerably less miserable than before.
“Who knew I had a hidden talent for renovations?”
Standing inside, Shiryu looked up at the straw-covered roof.
As long as it didn’t rain, the place should survive the night without falling apart around him.
“Good thing the forecast says it’ll stay dry tonight.
I’ll head into Postwick later and buy some proper building materials.”
He continued tidying as he spoke.
“Now we just have to wait for Wooloo to come back with his friends.
Then I’ll have my wool carpet for tonight too.”
With that settled, Shiryu stepped outside.
Drilbur was still tirelessly turning over the field, so Shiryu took Beldum down to the river to wash his face.
The water was crystal clear, with small fish darting beneath the surface.
Then Shiryu’s stomach growled.
He looked at Beldum.
“Beldum, you’re hungry.”
“Beldum?”
“Don’t question it.
You’re definitely hungry.”
Shiryu kept a completely straight face.
“You’re a Psychic-type, so you should learn how to move things without touching them.
For example, you could pull some of those fish out of the river.”
“Beldum…”
Beldum stared at him in a way that somehow managed to convey exasperation despite having no face to speak of.
Still, he actually tried.
Again and again, Beldum attempted to lift the fish from the water, but nothing happened.
“Yeah…
looks like telekinesis is probably beyond you until you evolve into Metang.”
Shiryu sounded genuinely disappointed.
From what he knew about Beldum, the only Psychic-type move the species could normally learn before evolving was Zen Headbutt.
Judging from how completely helpless Beldum had been at lifting even a tiny fish out of the river, learning that move any time soon didn’t seem particularly likely.
“Beldum…”
Apparently unwilling to accept that conclusion, Beldum suddenly plunged straight into the water.
As a Steel/Psychic-type, Beldum wasn’t especially afraid of water, although it certainly wasn’t something the species naturally enjoyed.
Once submerged, however, a violet aura suddenly gathered around his head.
Power surged around Beldum as he accelerated through the water.
One small fish after another was struck by the rushing force and launched straight onto the riverbank.
Shiryu stared in disbelief.
[Beldum did not want to disappoint the ranch owner and independently learned Zen Headbutt.]
“You can do that?!”
That was definitely not how Shiryu had expected this to go.
More and more fish began piling up along the shore.
Shiryu quickly called out toward the river.
“Beldum, that’s enough!
That’s plenty.
Leave some for next time!”
“Beldum~!”
Only then did Beldum poke his head back above the surface and float toward shore.
Seeing him completely soaked, Shiryu immediately took out a dry towel and wiped down his metallic body.
Under normal circumstances, Steel-type Pokémon generally didn’t bathe in water any more than Ground- or Rock-types did.
Many of them preferred rubbing themselves down with sand instead, which served as their own particular way of cleaning up.
Shiryu glanced toward the mountains to the south.
Once the ranch was properly established, he’d have to explore and excavate those mountains.
That kind of terrain would suit Beldum far better.
…
When Shiryu returned to the cottage, Drilbur was still working hard at the field.
“Take a break, Drilbur.
There’s no rush.”
That was what Shiryu said, at least.
What he hadn’t expected was that the quest to cultivate one hundred square meters of farmland was already complete.
“Whoa.
Drilbur, you actually finished already?
That’s some serious efficiency.”
“Dril~!”
Drilbur rubbed his nose with one claw, then planted both claws on his hips as if proudly taking credit for the entire accomplishment.
[Quest Complete: Cultivate one hundred square meters of farmland.]
[Rewards obtained: Ranch Shop unlocked, 1,000 Ranch Coins, and a small quantity of Exp.
Candy.]
…
The moment the completion notice appeared, Shiryu immediately claimed the rewards.
Several new quests followed right after.
[Main Quest: Build the world’s greatest Pokémon ranch.]
[Ranch Quest 1: Cultivate another one hundred square meters of farmland.]
[Quest Description: Expanding usable land is essential for any capable rancher.
Continue cultivating more of the property.]
[Quest Reward: Renovate the dilapidated thatched cottage into a comfortable wooden house and receive 2,000 Ranch Coins.]
…
[Ranch Quest 2: Catch ten Wooloo.
(1/10)]
[Quest Description: A capable rancher must do more than expand the ranch’s land.
A thriving ranch also requires a large number of Pokémon suited to livestock farming.
Catch more ranch Pokémon.]
[Quest Reward: 1 Steel Gem, 10 Luxury Balls, and 1,000 Ranch Coins.]
…
[New Side Quest 1: Plant Wishing Wheat and complete the first harvest.]
[Quest Reward: 3 Adamant Mints and a small quantity of Exp.
Candy.]
…
[New Side Quest 2: Plant an Oran Berry sapling and complete the first harvest.]
[Quest Reward: 3 Steel Tera Shards and a small quantity of Exp.
Candy.]
[Steel Tera Shard: Allows one Steel-type Pokémon to Terastallize once.
The effect lasts for thirty minutes or until the Pokémon is defeated.]
The system’s version of Tera Shards clearly worked differently from the ones Shiryu remembered from the games.
…
Shiryu looked over the four new quests without feeling any particular urgency.
It was already getting dark, and right now nothing mattered more than dinner.
Everything else could wait until tomorrow.
Developing a ranch wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight anyway.
This was going to be a long-term project.
After returning to the cottage, Shiryu opened the newly unlocked Ranch Shop.
The selection was surprisingly extensive.
It offered all kinds of items, including the Wishing Wheat seeds and Oran Berry saplings required for his new quests, both of which could be purchased using Ranch Coins.
More importantly, the shop also sold a wide variety of ordinary furniture and household goods.